Best fort to visit?

[MeHeartCruising]

7 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Yes, you can take either route.  

 

Paseo to the formal gate, and then left up the hills, 

Paseo to take the path all the way around the fort and then climb up the stairs and some grass and weave to the entry

Or just weave your way through town.  And there are a LOT of choices there....

 

It's really hard to say which is best or fastest.  Although, I think taking the entire path around the fort is the slowest.

 

I'd suggest taking one route to the fort and another back- so you can see as much of the old city as you can.

 

If you have a smart phone, you can use the mapping app and set the route to walk, and it should give you options.  I just did a quick look, and it gave me 3 routes.

 

Thank you alfaeric.  I'm leaning toward a zig-zag through the streets on the way there, especially if we leave the ship early enough, since the Fort doesn't officially open until 9am.   Then, likely a zig zag back to the ship as well.  We will see how it unfolds.  Thanks again.

[alfaeric]

Enjoy your trip.  

 

And at least stop at a bar and get some Puerto Rican rum...  Stuff you can't get on the ship.  A shot of Don Q Gran Anejo, neat, in a nice glass.  Good stuff.

[existentialtraveler]

On 1/14/2019 at 3:51 PM, thegoodlife247 said:

We have been to San Juan a few times but never been to either fort. Which one is the best to visit if we have to pick only one of them?  We plan to walk and don’t mind the distance. How long would it take to visit both forts - walking?  We are only docked from 7-3. Thank you. 

We have been to both recently. You can walk to both of them from the pier. You can also take the  free hop-on-hop off bus. Here are my youtube videos of them in 2018. I hope this helps.

El Moro....start at 15:18 for Old San Juan

 

El Cristobal...Starts right at the beginning!

 

[mmsoko]

On 2/15/2019 at 9:18 AM, indy71 said:

. We are visiting there again next week for a short port stop (with kids and grandkids this time) and I’m unsure what they might like the most. Whatever we do, I know it will be great!

We are visiting with kids and grandkids in early April. What did you do?  What did they enjoy?

DD uses mobility scooter. Thoughts?

[indy71]

We went to the Cathedral of San Juan and El Morro. The kids loved the fort (El Morro) because there were so many places to climb and hide. I’m probably not one to give advice about using a scooter there, but I did find some info on the National Park website. Hope the link works. 

 

 

Accessibility - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

Accessibility - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

[LoveTheSoul]

On 1/21/2019 at 2:10 PM, joie1016 said:

you can walk to Ft San Cristobal but you can't walk to El Morro 😉 ..

Is there a reason you say that you can't walk to El Morro?  In another thread, someone mentioned walking along the water front.

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by LoveTheSoul
Sorry, just saw other posters stating you can walk to the El Morro Fort - Lesson learned will read whole thread before asking a question next time. ;)

[joie1016]

1 hour ago, LoveTheSoul said:

Is there a reason you say that you can't walk to El Morro?  In another thread, someone mentioned walking along the water front.

 

 

[joie1016]

well when the ship docks at the Pan Am Pier and not in town its not walkable 😞 

[alfaeric]

2 hours ago, joie1016 said:

well when the ship docks at the Pan Am Pier and not in town its not walkable 😞 

Well, that would eliminate both forts.  And it's also the starting/ending of a cruise- I'm not aware of any ships that stop there for a normal port stop.  
 

And if you are starting in San Juan, then spend a day before or after in Old San Juan, and you can walk everywhere.

[existentialtraveler]

3 hours ago, joie1016 said:

well when the ship docks at the Pan Am Pier and not in town its not walkable 😞 

True..only walkable from the piers right  in San Juan. It is, however, a short  and inexpensive cab ride from the Pan Am pier.

[hapster85]

well when the ship docks at the Pan Am Pier and not in town its not walkable [emoji20] 

Thought that might have been your reason when you first mentioned it. And yes, it would be a very long walk from that pier. No worries. Simple miscommunication.

[LoveTheSoul]

 

4 hours ago, joie1016 said:

well when the ship docks at the Pan Am Pier and not in town its not walkable 😞 

1 hour ago, existentialtraveler said:

True..only walkable from the piers right  in San Juan. It is, however, a short  and inexpensive cab ride from the Pan Am pier.

That makes sense.  My cruise isn't until September but was curious if anyone knows which port Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas will dock?  Completely sad if it's at the Pan Am Pier as we are only in port from 7am-3pm.

[existentialtraveler]

2 minutes ago, LoveTheSoul said:

 

That makes sense.  My cruise isn't until September but was curious if anyone knows which port Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas will dock?  Completely sad if it's at the Pan Am Pier as we are only in port from 7am-3pm.

For what it's worth, the Freedom of the Seas and the Jewel of the Seas have always been docked at the Pan Am pier.

[LoveTheSoul]

3 minutes ago, existentialtraveler said:

For what it's worth, the Freedom of the Seas and the Jewel of the Seas have always been docked at the Pan Am pier.

Keeping my fingers crossed we will not dock there. :)  Thanks!

Edited February 28, 2019 by LoveTheSoul

[hapster85]

Keeping my fingers crossed we will not dock there. :)  Thanks!

Allure will dock in Old San Juan. To my knowledge, the ships at the Pan Am pier aren't stopping as a port of call, they are embarking from there.

[alfaeric]

3 hours ago, LoveTheSoul said:

 

That makes sense.  My cruise isn't until September but was curious if anyone knows which port Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas will dock?  Completely sad if it's at the Pan Am Pier as we are only in port from 7am-3pm.

It will be Old San Juan.  When we spent a week there, the Harmony was right across the plaza from our AirBnB.

[Cafedumonde]

Will it be obvious when we get off the ship how to get to the forts? Do we just walk towards them?

[alfaeric]

4 hours ago, Cafedumonde said:

Will it be obvious when we get off the ship how to get to the forts? Do we just walk towards them?

San Cristobal will be- just look up the hill a you get off the ship, and you will see it.

 

El Morro you can't see, and there are no signs to direct you.  

[SLTraveler]

On 2/16/2019 at 11:51 AM, AACJ said:

Only one person mentioned above but I think it's also worth noting again.  IF YOU BUY A TICKET TO ONE FORT, YOU GET INTO THE OTHER FORT FOR FREE WITHIN 7 DAYS.  Last time we went on a 7 night cruise out of San Juan, we checked out El Morro pre-cruise, cruised, then 7 days later, post cruise, we checked out the other fort for free, using the same receipt.

 

It is also certainly walk able from one to the other too.  We basically did the whole city in a day.  

That's a great tip! Thanks for posting. 

[PelicanBill]

On 3/2/2019 at 6:07 AM, Cafedumonde said:

Will it be obvious when we get off the ship how to get to the forts? Do we just walk towards them?

The walk to San Cristobal is obvious... cross the street, up the hill past the visitor center.

You need to walk into town and across until you see the big lawn in front of El Morrow.. not as obvious from the ship.  Grab a simple map off the Internet before you go if you want to try for the shortest walk.